Assignment Instructions

Blog Posts - Original Posts & Substantive Replies

Each week, you MUST blog about your experience of the interview process. (This is MANDATORY).

The blog posts will help prepare you to write the Final Paper

There are no grades for each blog post.

They MUST be 250 words with substantive information / content AND substantive replies to at least two (2) of your peers (75 words for each person).

Completeness

Posts that are less than 250 words are NOT considered "complete", and will forfeit credit for the week's post - and lose 10 points off your Grade for the Final Paper.

Contributors who do not respond substantively to at least two peers - will forfeit credit for the week's post - and lose 10 points off your Grade for the Final Paper.

Substantive replies are NOT required for the last (Week 5) blog post.

BLOG POSTS DUE: Wednesdays by 11:59 pm

You are required to reply substantively (75 words per person) to blog posts of your peers and colleagues - and continue the discussion thread / conversation as appropriate. Feel free to share your thoughts and advice.

Week 1: Introduce Yourself: Your Name, Major / Field of Study, and the Types of Jobs / Companies you are looking to work for

Week 3: Identify and Research Employers of Interest

Tip: This blog post requires that you actually do research - and you can do this at the Library, on the company website, news releases, LinkedIN, etc. Also, this is where networking and information interviews are very helpful - as they help you to connect the dots with hard to find, but important information.

Questions to Ask / Find the Information You Need

What is the Job / Role? What are you going to do?

What is the Organization? What do they do? What industry are they in?

What is their Business?

Who are their customers, markets, competitors

Are they making money? Losing money?

Are they in a regulated industry (i.e., energy, utilities, transportation);

Are they unionized?

What Problems / Challenges are they facing ("Pain)

Who is the Hiring Manager / Decision-Maker; Team Members - what are their backgrounds - what do they do, where have they worked before?

What is the culture of the organization like (you get this from networking / information interview)

Do people like to work there? Why/Why not? What is the average length of time that people stay in the organization?

Week 4: Information & Mock Interviews

Tip: The blog posting for this week involves sharing the information you learned regarding setting up, conducting, assessing / evaluating Information Interviews and Mock Interviews - and what you will do differently as a result of what you observed or learned.

Week 5: Course Learnings & Takeaways

What did I learn? How has this affected my understanding of the job search / interviewing process - from the perspective of employee and employer (hiring manager).

What will I do differently? How Will I Handle Challenging Situations? How will I demonstrate this learning (i.e., experiment, put it into practice?)

You will need to plan ahead to make sure you have the appropriate clothing and the person asking you the behavioral questions (for Video Interview II - at the end of the course).

Dress Up - Wear Professional Attire

Going on an interview, whether on video or in-person requires professional attire.l - and these days, even if you are a computer programmer - you need to dress smartly for the interview process. You don't have to go out and spend $1,000 and high end tailoring - even if you go to a 2nd hand shop, you can get a shirt / slacks cleaned, and you will look snazzy. Dress to impress!

Men - a buttoned-down dress shirt (ironed / pressed) and a tie, and a blazer / jacket if you have one. Make sure you wear pants / slacks too - fully clothed (because you might have to get up unexpectedly - and you don't want to have interviewers see you in your underwear!). Avoid black shirts - white or blue is best.

Women - a blouse or button-downed shirt (not sleeveless), ironed / pressed and buttoned up (no plunging necklines) and a blazer / jacket. f you must wear an open blouse / shirt, do so under a blazer / jacket, and make sure that only one button is open - so the look is clean and conservative.

For Everyone - NO hats, NO wild colors, stripes, images or patterns - make sure what you wear is flattering and NOT distracting.

About Ties - they must be fully-tied - all the way to the neck. (Employers don't like the 'boy-band' look.) No loose / open shirts and the tie dangling below. This looks sloppy, unkempt and ultimately disrespectful to the employer. The tie must be affixed firmly to the shirt collar / your neck.

Once you get the job, then you can dress more casually. For interviews, the look is clean, polished and conservative.If you decide to be a 'free spirit', and wear 'whatever', then your employer will interpret this as rebellious, and a lack of discipline / following the rules, and not a team player - regardless of your answers to behavioral questions in the interview.

(:You do NOT have to buy any clothing for this class. If you have any concerns, please write / see me directly.)

Find an Interview Partner Who Will Ask You the Behavior Interview Questions

Finding someone at the last minute, is always a challenge - so, avoid that problem by asking someone ahead of time; confirming the day, time and place with them - and making sure to explain the process and your expectations of them.

The person will be required to ask you the behavioral interview questions, beginning with "Tell Me About Yourself". If you are not satisfied with your answer (i.e., the content or how you answered), you may want to do it again with them. So, ask for 1 hour of their time - and it will probably be less time. If you don't ask for enough time, then you will feel pressure to do the interview and this will affect your answers and performance.

Make sure to find the appropriate environment to conduct the interview - i.e., where you will sit, the lighting, the furniture and the recording means (i.e., computer / camera / smartphone). It is OK to hear the interviewer's voice on the video.

Tip:Practice makes perfect - so practice your answers and tone and posture BEFORE doing it LIVE with your interviewer.

Practice makes perfect, and dry runs give you an opportunity to practice.

Be careful about memorizing a script - the candidate (you!) can come across as monotone (i.e., no variation in tone) - as if you're simply reading a script aloud. (In conversation, people don't sound that way.). Instead of a script, use bullet points to jog your memory.

Rehearse in front of a mirror - speak your 'notes out loud - until it becomes 2nd nature / natural

Feel free to vary your tone - speaking naturally with emphasis - just as you would in a normal conversation

Set Up the Camera + Look Directly into the Camera (not your computer screen)

Make sure to look directly into the camera. That is how the interviewer will see you.

Do a test of looking into the camera to see how it looks (as a dry run), and then in the interview, look into the camera. It's OK to look away from time to time - that is naturally - in conversation, people don't generally gaze into each other's eyes for minutes at a time!

High Priority: Properly Set Up Your Voicemail

Make sure to properly set up your voicemail, so that (1) You have a professional greeting that is easy to understand, spoken clearly and welcoming; and (2) You can RECEIVE MESSAGES from an employer!! (You would be amazed how many people do not do this!!)

If your voicemail is set up, then make sure to erase the messages in your inbox, to allow room for receiving new messages - from employers.

It is very frustrating for the employer to call you, and to receive a notice that there is no room in your voicemail inbox - it is not professional, for sure - and can set the wrong tone for your developing relationship. This is definitely something people will remember about you - and it DOES leave a BAD IMPRESSION!

Research the Company + Tell the Interviewer What Excites You About the Organization, Its Products / Services, Team, Culture, etc.

I would like to hear more about your excitement about working for the company. Use your research to find out more about the company, what was interesting to you and why; why do you want to work for them, vs. anyone else?

Tip: Be sure to map your experience to the job you want. For example, if the job is a "Coordinator", then it would make sense to use the word "coordinate" in how you explain your abilities. There will also be some keywords in the job description that you will want to tease / incorporate into your remarks.

Video 2 - Behavioral Interview Questions

(: Another person must ask you the questions - but I don't want to see them on camera. You have to speak directly to the Camera / Interviewer - while responding to the questions from the Interviewer. The Interviewer must follow the script - NO FREESTYLING - you will be penalized if the 4 Behavioral Interview Questions are not asked.)

Tell me about a time....when you had a DIFFICULT CHALLENGING PROJECT to complete OR WHEN YOU HAD TO WORK UDER PRESSURE - what was difficult about it? What did you do? (i.e., time, resource, people constraints, met / did not meet goals)?

Tell me about a time....when you had a CONFLICT WITH A SUPERVISOR / COLLEAGUE / OR CO-WORKER - what was the conflict? what did you do? What did you learn / do differently?...

You DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE FOR THIS JOB, WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU?

AND

CLOSE / END THE INTERVIEW

Tips for a Successful Video Interview / Introduction

Wear professional attire: suit and tie

Be aware of bad angles, poor lighting

Be careful of ambient sound / noise - and seek to reduce it (i.e., air conditioner, humming of lights, traffic noise from open windows, etc.)

Look into the camera

Talk comfortably into the camera.

Don't sit on your bed OR do the video in your bedroom

Consider how you sound / come across

Write up your remarks as bullet points (:DO NOT READ FROM A SCRIPT - I WILL BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR EYES MOVING FROM SIDE TO SIDE READING IT; YOUR VOICE TONE WILL NOT BE GOOD, AND YOU WILL APPEAR ROBOTIC AND WOODEN. Memorization is equally problematic - what I am looking for is a more natural, conversational, relaxed delivery with the information required and seeing your smile, your enthusiasm and personality - just like in an in-person interview. )

One approach that works, is to write out your remarks (bullet points help), then edit them to be more concise. Then, read them aloud - and take out wordy words (i.e., words you stumble over) - until it starts to feel more natural, compelling. You can then add body language by speaking into the mirror / seeing yourself on video.

Tip:Memorizing Your Lines & Remember to Smile Be careful about memorizing your script - you want to leave room for natural, spontaneous delivery. If your video is 10 seconds (which it isn't), the performance comes across OK; but if your video is 1 minute (which it is), then your performance will come across as wooden and robotic! That is not something you want. So, make sure to include a bit of personality in your video - and a way to do this, is to show some other body language (i.e., smiling, relaxed shoulders, mild use of hands, relaxed shoulders.

Tip:Use Bullet Points to Jog Your Memory - Use bullet points instead of a script - either from a piece of paper or your computer - and have the bullet points jog your memory. This way, you can glance at the information, and not read it.

Be enthusiastic about the position, SMILE if you can - ADD A SMILE TO YOUR VOICE / TONE

Show interest in the position and employer

The Instructor understand that it might not be comfortable to see yourself on video, hear your voice - this takes time to get used to - and you will have to do it in front of an interviewer - so again, practice makes perfect!

WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR WORK, MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VOICEMAIL IS READY AND SET-UP TO TAKE MESSAGES.